Europe and the USA are looking to completely unravel the secrets of our brains within the next ten years. Europe has designated 2014 as The Year of the Brain. We have decided to dedicate a month to the grey matter: The Brainstorm Sessions. A month in which guest curator Frank Theys – filmmaker, philosopher and visual artist – i.c.w. Damiaan Denys - philosopher and professor of psychiatry at the AMC-UvA, the Amsterdam Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam - will bring together elements he considers interesting from an artistic and philosophical viewpoint related to this theme.
The exhibition includes works by Anirban Bandyopadhyay, The Blue Brain Project, Henry Markram, Jennifer Kanary Nikolova, Shinji Nishimoto & Jack L. Gallant, Frank Theys and Harald Thys & Jos De Gruyter.

We are pleased to invite you to the opening of the exhibition on Friday, 13 December at 19h00. During the opening, you will also be able to visit the concert by soundscape artist Francisco López, free of charge. Lopez has performed and exhibited installations in all the major museums and festivals, such as PS1 Contemporary Art Center (New York), Museum of Modern Art (Paris), Institute of Contemporary Art (London) and the International Film Festival (Rotterdam). Prepare yourself for an immersive mind massage in the dark.
FRANK THEYS (Brussels, 1963), guest curator of the exhibition, is a filmmaker, philosopher and visual artist. His audio-visual work ranges from interactive installations to documentary, experimental film and theatre. The common thread is a scientific approach to existential questions and vice versa. His work has won various international awards and can be found in the collections of MOMA (New York), SMAK (Ghent) and the Centre National de la Cinématographie in Paris. His recent documentary series Technocalyps stirred up a storm of debate within the cultural and scientific worlds.
PROGRAMME THE BRAINSTORM SESSIONS
Below, you will find the complete programme of The Brainstorm Sessions, our month dedicated to the brain:
Fri 13 Dec - Sun 19 Jan: Exhibition Neurons Firing
Tue 17 - Sat 21 Dec, 20h30 / Sun 22 Dec, 16h00: Theatre performance: What is fear?
Thu 09 Jan, 20h30: Sonic Soirée #22 is taken over by psychedelic soundwaves
Fr 10 Jan, 20h30 – 02h00: ABC Night of the Brain
Sun 12 Jan, 16h00 – 19h00: Zjoek, The Brain Screen (in Kriterion)
Mon 13 Jan, 20h30: Lecture: Film and Brains in the Digital Age, by Patricia Pisters
Thu 16 Jan, 13h00 – 17h00: Symposium: on Deep Brain Stimulation and the Law.
Thu 16 Jan, 20h30: Lecture: on Microtubules & The Big Debate on Consciousness, by sir Roger Penrose & Anirban Bandyopadhyay
Fri 17 Jan, 20h30: Science Demonstration: Sapta Rishi (The Seven Stars) by Anirban Bandyopadhyay, Subrata Ghosh and Batu Ghosh
Sat 18 Jan, 20h30: Science concert: Ajeya Chhandam (The Invincible Rhythm) by Anirban Bandyopadhyay